Looking to get your community members personally prepared?  Try hosting a community preparedness conference offering a variety of preparedness topics that engage community members via subject matter that appeals to them personally!

Too often when we try to get the preparedness message out, we make it all about US - "why WE think you should be prepared."  This is a quick way to lose your audience.  Instead, try making the message all about THE INDIVIDUAL and weaving preparedness into it.  Let them pick their topics of interest, and demonstrate how preparedness has a role in almost everything we do.

Best Practice: The Southeast Wisconsin Medical Reserve Corps (SEWIMRC) hosted a Community Preparedness Conference during National Preparedness Month 2010 featuring sessions on:

• Epidemiology
• Water Purification
• Search and Rescue in Disaster Response
• Wilderness First Aid
• Cell Phone Preparedness
• Basic CPR (for certification)
• Leadership and Influence
• Hazmat Awareness
• Psychological First Aid
• Mass Care/Functional Needs in Disaster
• Animals/Vectors in Disasters
• Wound Closure
• Bloodborne Pathogens/PPE
• Basic Introduction to SALT Triage
• Livestock in Disaster
• Flood Cleanup
• Traffic/Crowd Control
• Field Technology
• Stormspotter training

The SEWIMRC facilitated this event with the help of the Wisconsin Disaster Medical Response Team MRC and the Wisconsin Animal Response Corps MRC.  MRC members presented many of the sessions, with some assistance from community partners, such as the Red Cross, Public Health, Hospitals, CERT Instructors, Emergency Management, Fire Service, Law Enforcement and the National Weather Service.

The local conference was open to all community members and was attended by over 100 people.  It helped to raise the level of preparedness in the community by allowing people to engage in preparedness discussion and hands-on activities through topics they were interested in.  Furthermore, it was an opportunity for the MRC to work collaboratively with our partners to fulfill our mission of helping our community be be prepared.  Best of all, it was a great way to showcase the talent that volunteers bring to the community in preparedness efforts - all of the presenters volunteered their time.

The event was a huge success, and many participants and partners have already submitted ideas for potential session material next year.  As stated on one evaluation form, "Very good conference. It was good for volunteers and was enough info to educate but also create more interest to pursue more education."